I received this question: 

Good morning!  I am interested in your Visual Latin corse for my soon to be 10 year old son.  I have a few questions…

How long does it typically take to complete VL 1 and 2?  Is Lingua Latina the next step after Visual Latin?  If so, how long does it typically complete that course?

My ultimate high school foreign language goal for my son is to be able to speak conversational Spanish.  We farm and most of our employees are Spanish speaking.  We follow a classical model for our homeschool, so I appreciate all of the opportunities that learning Latin first brings about.  

Thank you for your time!

Here is my reply:

You know what…. if you already know that you are heading toward Spanish anyway, skip Latin.   

Wish I had done this with my own kids.   They are pretty good at Latin… and, it’s absolutely useless to them.

They don’t know Spanish, and we have several Spanish families on our street.  My kids wish they knew Spanish.  

My recommendation?  Forget Latin.  Go with Spanish.  

Here’s the crazy thing.  Spanish will make Latin easier for your son if he decides to learn Latin later.  My best Latin students are almost always Hispanic.  

Learn Spanish.  Useful.  Useful. Useful. 

The way it’s taught these days, Latin is essentially useless. 

If you decide to go with Latin, I can honestly recommend only one path.  Two years of Visual Latin (that’s both levels).  After that spend a year reading Lingua Latina.  Don’t waste any more than three years on Latin.

Let me know if you need more help!

Dwane Thomas